KEVIN Keegan sends his team into action at Barnsley tonight ( Wednesday ) with a warning to beware the ‘sacked manager syndrome’.

The Manchester City boss believes that opponents are never as dangerous as when they have just lost their boss.

And Keegan is convinced that the Oakwell players will be firing on all cylinders tonight following the recent shock dismissal of Nigel Spackman.

Spackman’s assistant Glyn Hodges has been placed in charge on a caretaker basis and staked his claim for a permanent appointment by halting Barnsley’s slide with an impressive victory over West Brom last weekend.

‘‘That was a great result for Glyn and if any of my players think it’s going to be easy tonight because Barnsley have a caretaker manager they could be in for a shock,’’ says Keegan.

‘‘If you want an example of how things can change rapidly under a new manager, then look at Coventry City.

‘‘They had a new man in charge in Roland Nilsson following Gordon Strachan’s departure and they have fairly rocketed up the First Division since then.

‘‘I don’t know what has made the difference. Maybe it is just a change of voice in the dressing room or the change in personnel. Perhaps Roland just saw something in his players which wasn’t evident to others.

‘‘That is what Glyn Hodges will be trying to do at Barnsley and, believe me, it will not be an easy game against them tonight.’’

Changes

With Kevin Horlock suspended after picking up two yellow cards during the draw against Sheffield United, Keegan will be forced to make at least one change from the side which earned a useful point at Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening.

‘‘Suspensions hit everybody at some stage of the season so I am not complaining,’’ adds Keegan. ‘‘When you have players missing it helps you to find out how good your squad really is.

‘‘Other players get an opportunity to put forward their case for selection and it is up to them to make the best use of their chance.’’

Aussie dynamo Danny Tiatto is available again following his ban for accumulating five yellow cards, while Keegan admits that Eyal Berkovic is in contention for a place in the starting line-up at Oakwell.

Amazingly, with a third of the season completed, the Israeli international still hasn’t played a full game for the Blues since arriving at Maine Road during the summern in a £1.5m move from Glasgow Celtic.

He was substituted after 70 minutes of his debut against Watford and suffered a hamstring injury in his second outing at Norwich, which flared up again during his comeback match against Notts County in the Worthington Cup.

The little midfielder is now fully fit and itching to get 90 minutes of soccer under his belt — and is likely to be given the opportunity against Barnsley tonight at the expense of Ali Benarbia, whose form has dipped in recent matches following a blistering start to his Maine Road career.